Sanica Gornja Waste Dump
Above remediation valueMedia tested
Summary
Sanica Gornja is a roughly 22,000 m² private parcel near Ključ, holding a weekend house, that is suspected of having served as a dumping site for unknown waste from a former EUFOR base — buried waste or underground tanks may be present, though this was not confirmed by targeted investigation. The site sits on karst terrain about 50 metres from the river Sanica and within a flood zone. Soil, water and sediment were tested. In the stream sediment, cobalt exceeded the level indicating that cleanup is needed, while cadmium and nickel were above the level at which land is no longer considered clean throughout the tested soil and sediment. Both surface-water samples met all the prescribed limits.
Assessment findings
Findings of concern
- In the stream sediment, cobalt was above the level indicating that cleanup is needed — the most serious finding at the site.
- Cadmium was above the level at which land is no longer considered clean throughout the tested soil — both the surface and the deeper layer — and in the sediment.
- Nickel, likewise, was above that "no longer clean" level throughout the tested soil and in the sediment.
- Cobalt, copper and zinc were above that level in the surface soil as well, and molybdenum in the sediment.
Positive findings
- Both surface-water samples met all the applicable limits.
- Petroleum-related, tar-and-combustion, solvent-type and industrial-oil pollutants were within limits in all the soil and sediment samples.
- Lead, selenium, chromium and arsenic were within limits across all the tested soil and sediment.
- Away from the sediment, cobalt stayed within limits in the deeper soil layers.
Photo gallery
The project results have been submitted to the competent institutions as a basis for improving regulation and for strategic planning of further activities.
Legal basis
- Decision on the characterization of surface and groundwater, reference conditions and parameters for water status assessment and water monitoring (Official Gazette of FBiH No. 01/14)
- Rulebook on limit and remediation values of polluting, harmful and hazardous substances in soil (Official Gazette of RS No. 82/21)
Due to the absence of reference values for soil and sediment in the Federation of BiH, the Republika Srpska rulebook is applied as a reference framework to ensure methodological consistency between the entities.
